[Organ Donation in Victims of Non-Traumatic Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest]. / Organspende bei Patienten nach nicht traumatischem außerklinischem Herzstillstand.

INTRODUCTION: The out-of-hospital cardiac-arrest (OHCA) is one of the leading causes of death. However, although previous studies showed the possibility to transplant organs from resuscitated donors, organ donation following OHCA remains seldom. We therefore initiated this study to investigate the current percentage of organ donation in victims of OHCA in a german university hospital. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We analyzed data from all victims of OHCA who were admitted to our hospital between January 1st 2008 and May 31st 2017. RESULTS: Altogether, there were 385 victims of OHCA admitted to our hospital. 126 victims of OHCA (32.8 %) survived until hospital discharge, 259 died (67.2 %), hereunder 7 victims of OHCA (1.8 %) with proven brain death. 5 victims of OCHA (1.5 %) donated their organs, and altogether 14 organs could be transplanted successfully. DISCUSSION: Organ donation following OHCA is seldom. We therefore would appreciate a more frequent diagnostics of brain death as currently not even all victims of OHCA with proven signs of brain damage in the computed tomography receive further diagnostics to confirm the diagnosis of brain death.

Using vascular closure devices following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest?

OBJECTIVES AND BACKGROUND: Despite a generally broad use of vascular closure devices (VCDs), it remains unclear whether they can also be used in victims from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) treated with mild therapeutic hypothermia (MTH). METHODS: All victims from OHCA who received immediate coronary angiography after OHCA between January 1(st) 2008 and December 31(st) 2013 were included in this study. The operator decided to either use a VCD (Angio-Seal™) or manual compression for femoral artery puncture. The decision to induce MTH was based on the clinical circumstances. RESULTS: 76 patients were included in this study, 46 (60.5%) men and 30 (39.5%) women with a mean age of 64.2 ± 12.8 years. VCDs were used in 26 patients (34.2%), and 48 patients (63.2%) were treated with MTH. While there were significantly more overall vascular complications in the group of patients treated with MTH (12.5% versus 0.0%; p=0.05), vascular complications were similar between patients with VCD or manual compression, regardless of whether or not they were treated with MTH. CONCLUSION: In our study, the overall rate of vascular complications related to coronary angiography was higher in patients treated with mild therapeutic hypothermia, but was not affected by the application of a vascular closure device. Therefore, our data suggest that the use of VCDs in victims from OHCA might be feasible and safe in patients treated with MTH as well, at least if the decision to use them is individually carefully determined.

Cardiac arrest teams and time of day: effects on surviving in-hospital resuscitation.

OBJECTIVES: Little is known about the factors that influence survival following in-hospital resuscitation, but previous investigations have suggested that in-hospital resuscitations outside of regular working hours are associated with worse survival rates. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In-hospital cardiac arrest teams at our hospital were instructed to complete a questionnaire following every emergency call between July 2011 and June 2013. Data on all resuscitation attempts were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 65 in-hospital resuscitations were recorded in 42 males (64.6%) and 23 females (35.4%) (mean age 72.0±14.3 years). A total of 54 (83.1%) cardiac arrests were witnessed; seven (10.8%) showed a shockable rhythm at the time of the first ECG. Resuscitation attempts lasted 29.3±41.3 minutes, and 4.1±3.1 mg epinephrine was given. Return of spontaneous circulation could be achieved in 38 patients (58.5%); 29 (44.6%) survived the first day, 23 (35.4%) the seventh day, and 15 patients (23.1%) were discharged alive. Significantly more in-hospital resuscitations were obtained for those performed during non-regular working hours (P<0.001), with higher neuron-specific enolase levels at 72 hours after resuscitation during nonregular working hours (P=0.04). Patients who were discharged alive were significantly younger (P=0.01), presented more often with an initial shockable rhythm (P=0.04), and had a shorter duration of resuscitation (P<0.001) with the need of a lower dose of epinephrine (P<0.001). DISCUSSION: Survival rates following in-hospital resuscitation were poor at any time, but appear to depend less on time-dependent effects of the quality of resuscitation and more on time-dependent effects of recognition of cardiac arrests.